


The Best-Laid Plans

by Cephy



Category: Last Remnant
Genre: Beach Sex, M/M, New Game Plus Challenge, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-07
Updated: 2010-05-07
Packaged: 2017-10-10 16:44:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/101909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cephy/pseuds/Cephy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David and Rush and a rare chance to relax.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best-Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the DW newgameplus community. Set between Disc 1 and Disc 2.

Rush had a Plan.

It started with something simple, as most Plans do. He walked out of the palace one morning intending to go down to Virtus Parish and check on things, and he had to lift a hand to shade his eyes from the sun. That was all-- but it got him thinking about what a nice day it was, how warm the afternoons had become, and how much of a shame it was that none of his friends seemed to take the time to enjoy it.

Really, they were all more than due for a break.

Once the idea hit him, it wasn't long before it became a Plan. Because there was this place that the locals had told him about, that he'd checked out while exploring one day-- a lake, calm and blue and perfect, a little far from the city but that only meant that there probably wouldn't be anyone else there to bug them. And the area was just oozing with that stuff that drove monsters away, so once they got there they wouldn't have to worry. It was almost too perfect, and it would give his friends a chance to get away from the daily grind and forget their problems for a while.

He went after Dave first, figuring he'd be the toughest one to convince-- that Nassau sense of obligation was severely overdeveloped. But Rush was determined, and more importantly he knew Dave's weak points, so in the end the Marquis was successfully bullied into taking a day off.

With Dave rather sceptically on board, Rush went after the rest-- only to discover the flaw in his Plan. All four of the Generals protested that with Dave gone, they had to stay behind to make sure nothing happened in the city. At least they didn't try to argue that Dave shouldn't be going at all, but Rush was still a little disappointed. He would have liked to see Torgal's reaction to the water, see if he was at all like the cats of Rush's acquaintance and what he would have thought of the schools of fish that darted through the shallows. And he'd bet Blocter would have done one beauty of a cannonball.

Rush then asked Baulson, who said he had to go see his sister, and Loki, who just looked at him like he was nuts. Nora was nowhere to be found-- not surprising, if she'd heard he was coming-- and Caedmon had left for Balterossa a week before. His mom didn't want to leave his dad's bedside just yet, and Irina-- well, she asked him who all was going, and when he said it was just him and Dave so far, she gave him a _look_ and suddenly remembered that she had shopping to do.

Bratty little sister.

So in the end it was just him and Dave, which was still pretty ace, and the Plan went forward on a much reduced scale. They took off first thing in the morning, snagging a day-carriage from the palace's stock and using that as far as the roads would take them. They had to leave it at a waypoint and go the rest of the way on foot, which meant they had to fight the monsters they couldn't outrun anymore, but that was all right too. Kind of exhilarating, actually; he'd been doing too much sitting around in the palace. It was nice to be able to face a problem head on and solve it with a couple good hits. From the way Dave was swinging his sword around, he must have thought the same.

Dave's eyes went a little wide when they finally arrived and he saw the lake. Because Dave was Dave, Rush knew that he was comparing it all to the map in his head, looking at the little blue dot and squiggle and trying to somehow match it up to the real thing. Rush nudged him with an elbow to shake him out of it and started towards the beach, pulling his shirt over his head. _That_ was usually a sure-fire way to get Dave's attention, and it didn't fail this time either; Rush heard footsteps coming after him in a matter of seconds.

He really wished he could take Dave to Eulam and show him the shores there, the little shoals and lagoons, the endless stretches of pale beige sand. This place really didn't compare-- the beach was just a sad little patch of coarse grey-- but it was good enough, and he knew Dave would never leave Athlum for long enough to take a real vacation, not while the world was still as unsettled as it was. So yeah, it would do for now.

There was a group of boulders near the beach, perfect for leaving their clothes and gear on-- the rocks grew up into a low cliff bordering the lake's north shore, perfect for jumping, which was what Rush did. The water was warmer than Rush had expected-- he was still thinking of the ocean, the way it was always a shock when you broke through the surface-- but it still worked to wash off the sweat of the trip. And it was so worth it for the sight of Dave with his hair all slicked back, coming up from that first dive, because of course he'd followed Rush right off the edge.

They splashed around like kids, shoving water in each other's faces and sputtering with laughter. They dove for a while to pick up interesting rocks from the bottom; Rush could dive further, hold his breath longer, because he just had more practice, and he used that to full advantage to sneak up under Dave and grab his ankles. Dave, the master tactician, always managed to retaliate, but both of them couldn't really stop laughing at that point so they just kind of forgot to figure out who won or lost, at the end of it.

They ended up sprawled on their towels in the sun, eyes closed, arms flung wide and fingers just barely touching. Rush had to get up before too long and find some shade-- he knew from past experience that he would burn if he didn't-- but he was perfectly content to sit on the rocks and watch Dave bask, too, all gold and glowing in the light.

And he _really_ enjoyed it when Dave slitted one eye open with a dangerous grin, reaching a hand towards Rush in invitation. He enjoyed it so much that he figured what the heck, a little sunburn couldn't be _that_ bad, and he snagged the flask of light oil from his pack as he hopped off the rock and started over.

They were both reluctant to get dressed again as the afternoon stretched on, but they were rapidly reaching the point where if they didn't leave soon, it'd be dark before they made it back, and Rush didn't quite trust Torgal not to send out search parties if that happened. So he pulled himself together, settled his coat, and turned to Dave, who was standing and looking out over the water.

Dave was still smiling though, when Rush got close enough to see, and that little pinch between his eyes had finally gone away. So all in all, Rush thought that everything had gone according to Plan.


End file.
